Causatum
by Joey Taylor
Summary: Left behind when Jaden and Yusei went back to thier own times, Yugi seeks shelter in the only place he knows he might be welcome.
1. Coming Home

Yugi hesitated to open the door.

It was his home, so really he shouldn't have been worried. Except it wasn't. If he'd been coming back to his home, his Grandfather wouldn't have been running the shop. His Grandfather wouldn't have been doing anything because...

_'Easy Yugi.'_ Yami sent over the link, concerned for his partner who had yet to rest after their trip back through time and their duel with Paradox and still hadn't had a chance to really process everything properly. _'We don't have to approach Grandpa, we can go somewhere else.'_

"_There is nowhere else."_ Yugi replied, _"We have access to my bank account for now, but it's only until I... this timeline's Yugi I mean, cancels the card and gets a new one and we can't go to our friends because they'll go straight to me, not me, the other me..." _Yugi trailed off and let out a sigh. _"We can't go to Ryou and Kaiba would just laugh in our faces. So it has to be here."_

'_I can take over and handle this if you want.'_ Yami offered, _'I know you're tired and stressed out from today. With good reason.' _Yami added the latter as he felt Yugi's emotions shift towards irritation, _'Maybe you should stand aside for now...'_

"_No. I can handle it. The worst that could happen is that we get kicked out and have to find somewhere else to sleep." _Yugi sensed Yami frown slightly and picked up on a 'reluctance to disagree but...', _"You think you'll attack us."_

'_Yugi think about it for a moment. We're about to go in there and tell us that we're them from a future where our Grandfather was killed and we stopped it from happening again, but could we please stay here because we have nowhere else to go because our own timeline was erased when we saved Grandpa's life?'_

Put like that it did sound rather ridiculous...

'_We have no proof that we're not just insane. Not now Jaden and Yusei have gone home. The D-Runner would have proved our point quite nicely.'_ Yugi had to hold back a chuckle at Yami's tone when he mentioned Yusei's motorcycle. The spirit of the Puzzle loved to duel, but he hadn't thought that the motorcycle was a good idea. That wouldn't have stopped him using it if necessary.

Personally Yugi didn't think they were safe, but he knew his dark. Yami never backed down from a challenge. Yugi was just glad that there had only been one D-Runner available.

"_We're not completely unreasonable, Yami."_ Yugi sighed, wanting nothing more than to go to sleep and forget today had ever happened. _"We have an identical deck, identical bodies... hell we both have a Millennium Puzzle."_ Yugi paused momentarily, _"Do you think my Puzzle would react to the me from this timeline?"_

'_Maybe...'_ Yami briefly wondered about the possibility of him sending this time's Yugi his memories of what happened while this timeline's Yami got Yugi's version of events, before letting out heavy sigh, _'In this, as in everything else I bow to your wishes, Yugi. But I won't let you get hurt. If this time's Yami attacks, we're leaving, got it?'_

He felt Yugi's hesitant agreement as his light half stepped up to the door and reached for the handle only to get manhandled by someone from behind. Instinctively Yami seized control and lashed out at their assailant using their magic, only to pull back at the last second when he realised that it was Joey who had him in a headlock.

"Thanks Yuge." Joey said as he practically dragged him inside the shop, "Seriously. When that guy took my Red Eyes... but he's back now. I don't know what you did but than... Yuge?"

The arm around Yami's neck vanished allowing the spirit of the Puzzle to straighten up and look across the room to where a rather stunned Yugi was staring at him.

"Ya...Yami?" The Yugi in the store room doorway asked, shocked, his hand going to the Puzzle around his neck, before his Yami was in control. "Who are you?"

"You already know." Yami informed his counterpart, wondering what was going through his mind right now and slightly wary considering that if it had been him, he would have been seriously considering a Shadow Game right now.

"You cannot be Yami Yugi." The other Yami scowled, "It's not possible. Your Puzzle has to be a fake."

"It's not. That blast that ruined the tournament's opening ceremony today, that was my friends. Everyone would have died except you otherwise."

"Explain." Yami demanded, having sensed magic just before the blast had wreaked the stage and sent everyone fleeing in all directions but disbelieving that there could possibly be two Yamis and two Millennium Puzzles.

"There was a Duellist named Paradox..."

"I've heard his name before. He took Joey's Red Eyes and one of Kaiba's Blue Eyes. Stole them right out of the cards."

Yami nodded, "Paradox was from the future."

"What?" The other Yami deadpanned.

"Paradox was from the future."

"Pull the other one." Joey snorted from where he'd taken position leaning against the wall.

"It's true, Joey." Yugi stepped into control, causing the Yami in the doorway's eyes to widen momentarily before a scowl settled on his features, "Paradox was from the future and claimed the world in his time had been destroyed. Put all the blame on the game of Duel Monsters, so he went back in time to stop the game in its tracks. He..." Yugi stopped mid sentence as Solomon Mutou exited the stairwell leading to the flat above the shop, his words catching in his throat.

"You know, Yugi, I've been think..." Solomon trailed off as he took in the fact that there was two of his Grandson stood in his shop, "That is a rather good costume, young man."

Yugi stood there a moment longer and Yami nearly took control away again, only to pause when he felt Yugi mentally shake himself, "I... Uhh... Hi..."

"I think some answers are in order here." Solomon spoke carefully, examining the boy by the door carefully and realising that it wasn't a costume, "Joseph would you kindly lock the shop door while I take my Grandsons upstairs."

"Yes, Gramps." Joey nodded, watching Yugi warily as he followed Solomon's instructions.

"Upstairs please boys." Solomon indicated the stairs.

Yugi didn't move, mostly because the other Yami was giving him a look that screamed 'hurt-my-family-they-will-never-find-the-body' and he'd suddenly realised how his friends could consider Yami frightening when he or anyone he cared about was at risk.

"Yugi Mutou." Solomon's snap made both Yugi and the other Yami turn to look at him instinctively. "Upstairs. Now. Both of you."

"After you." The other Yami gestured for Yugi to precede him.

The time travelling hikari moved carefully towards the door, easily able to sense his other self's wariness as he stood in the corridor between their minds, ready to take over at the slightest provocation. Solomon moved to follow but the Yami who'd been hovering in the doorway was faster, moving between his Grandfather and the intruder.

"Sit down." Solomon practically had to order the pair as he emerged from the stairwell.

His Grandson, who had yet to stop scowling, watched the newcomer slump into Yugi's favourite chair, pulling up his knees and resting his head on them. Then and only then did the spirit settle into one of the armchairs close by.

Solomon's heart ached as he watched the obviously distressed newcomer and he slipped into the kitchen for a moment and emerged with four cups of tea.

"Here." He handed the newcomer a cup and watched the teen uncurl enough to take it, becoming concerned by the look in the boy's eyes. "You look like you need this."

"Th...Thank you." Yugi nodded, his voice wavering and his hands shaking as he took it.

The elderly gamer turned away to hand the others their mugs as Joey finally arrived upstairs, shutting the door behind him and hanging the shop keys up on the hook provided before slumping onto the sofa and taking his tea, glancing between the two versions of his friend.

Yami watched the young man that looked so much like his lighter self. Everything about the teen screamed Yugi. The attitude, the looks, he could even sense the light radiating from the teen's soul and the aura of magic surrounding the Puzzle.

But it wasn't possible. Was it?

There couldn't be two Yugis, two Puzzles, two Yamis...

"Yugi?" Solomon asked gently when he had to take the cup from the teen before he split hot tea everywhere, confused as to why there were two Yugis in his living room but knowing instinctively that the young man in front of him needed him .

The teen stared at him blankly for a moment or two then he seemed to shake himself out of his shock and looked at Solomon properly.

"What happened?"

Yugi flinched and looked away. "I don't... You won't believe me."

"I currently have two versions of my Grandson sat in my living room, give me a little credit." Solomon smiled at him.

Yugi didn't smile back. "I... This is going to sound weird."

"I've seen and heard a lot of weird things in my life." Solomon reassured the teen, "Whatever your story, I'll listen and I won't judge."

The newcomer glanced at his Grandson then took a deep breath. "It all started a couple of weeks ago..."

**LINE_RECOGNITION_HAS_GONE_AGAIN**

**Author Note: A little bit that popped into my head after rewatching the Bonds Beyond Time Abridged movie. No this is not written from that universe. While I like Yu-Gi-Oh! Abridged, Little Kuriboh's jokes belong to Little Kuriboh and I don't feel I should copy him. **

**Anyway I don't know how or if I'll continue this. This was written as a short continuation of the movie after I watched the original version and couldn't work out what would happen to the Yugi who was pulled back in time. It's not like he could go back to his actual timeline. **

**For that matter how did the other two get back? Since they both left after the timeline had started collapsing, did they get back and find that they could slip back into their old lives, or are there two of them running around too?**


	2. Descision

It all matched up. The events of the last two weeks, where Joey's Red Eyes had been stolen out of his card, along with Kaiba's Blue Eyes, right up until around midday today when apparently the newcomer's life had gone to hell.

Dead on midday, just moments after Pegasus had arrived, a bunch of dragonic monsters that Yami had never heard of in his life, or second life, or whatever it was called, had attacked the tournament and destroyed all of the surrounding buildings. The buildings had collapsed on the people at the tournament, killing almost everyone there.

The time travelling Yugi hadn't had any idea how he'd managed to survive an attack that had killed over two hundred people but Yami had a good idea of what had happened to cause it. The Puzzle's magic was powerful and when the need was great he could use it to do things like create shields and blast away attackers. The Yami that lived inside the Puzzle belonging to the time traveller had probably used that power to save his hikari's life.

Then a horrible thought hit Yami and he couldn't help but ask, "Did your Grandfather go to the tournament with you too?"

The new Yugi didn't say anything for a moment, then he nodded his head miserably. "We got separated in the crowds and when the buildings collapsed he was..."

Solomon reacted in a heartbeat as Yugi's voice wavered and cracked, hugging his Grandson who clung to the old man and burst into tears as the events of the day finally caught up with him.

It was at that moment any dislike Yami still harboured for the teen vanished completely. It had been difficult enough to stay wary of Yugi, even if it wasn't his Yugi and seeing him as upset as this tapped into his instinctual need to protect his light from harm. Instead that anger shifted onto Paradox, the man who had killed his Grandfather and left a version of Yugi homeless and lost in time.

It didn't help that he could sense his own Yugi's distress at the other's words. Just the thought of his grandfather being killed was enough to have sent Yugi reeling, especially when he considered how close it had come to happening here. Just a few minutes longer and there would have been more than one crying Yugi out there.

Solomon waited until his Grandson had cried himself out, falling asleep in his arms as exhaustion met up with grief, and then gently laid the teen down and gestured for Joey and Yami to follow him out.

"He's staying." Solomon said before the other two could get a word in edgeways. "I won't throw my Grandson out on his ear, no matter which time or dimension he's from."

Yami nodded his understanding. If anything he was grateful to the old gamer, who seemed to have grasped the situation before he had. Yami still had questions for the young man curled up on the sofa, but it wouldn't have been fair to the teen to wake him up and ask, nor did he think the other Yami would appreciate it. If his Yugi had gone through what the other had, he wouldn't have appreciated his light being woken up either.

"I can take the couch." Joey shrugged, seemingly unconcerned by this turn of events. "Wouldn't be the first time after all."

"You could always get the camp bed out of the store room." Solomon pointed out for the fifth or sixth time, "It's still down there."

"There's nowhere for it to go." Joey pointed out. Yami, who was fully aware of the fact Yugi would and had dragged it upstairs for Joey before, scowled at Joey, who noted the look he was getting from the spirit of the Puzzle and backed up slightly. "But I'm sure I can find space somewhere, even if I have to set it up in the kitchen."

With that Joey darted down the stairs to get it.

"You know you shouldn't scare Yugi's friends like that." Solomon chuckled.

"Joey knows I don't mean it." Yami waved off the comment, then paused and looked at Solomon, the man's words sinking in properly, "But..."

"Don't." Solomon advised, holding up a hand. "I'm fully aware of you and your frequent possession of my Grandson. I'm also aware of what you used to get up to and how much my Grandson and I both owe you. Don't lie to me."

"I apologise." Yami bowed, a little stunned by this sudden revelation but not as stunned as his lighter half, "But I don't believe you owe me anything. It's I that owe you and Yugi."

Solomon considered the spirit of the Puzzle carefully, as if trying to decide whether he thought he was being honest or not, then nodded slightly, "Maybe we should agree to disagree on that matter. I'm warning you now though, harm that boy," Solomon gestured towards the living room, "And there will be hell to pay."

"It may not be my Yugi in there, but it's still a Yugi and I swore, the moment I first awoke, that I would protect your Grandson. I will not harm the pair in the living room as long as the other Yami doesn't try to attack us, I promise."

Solomon nodded, unable to help feeling relieved. Then he paused and facepalmed. "Oh dear."

"What?" Yami asked, on the alert and worried the moment those words escaped his Grandfather's lips.

"There's two of you."

"And that's a bad thing?" Yami asked, amused.

"Yes and no. No, because I have no problems with raising two Yugis. Yes because, no offence, but you attract trouble more effectively than Joey can clear a plate."

Yami wanted to deny it but found, much to his disgust, that he couldn't.

Both of them winced as they heard the thudding of Joey bringing the camp bed up the stairs and Yugi slipped into control, He gave his Grandfather a sheepish grin, knowing that he'd want a word later, and darted out of the room. He paused momentarily as he passed the sofa.

The time traveller was gone, the thudding had stopped too. Turning towards the door he could hear Yami's voice scolding Joey and it threw him again, just as it had when Joey had first dragged the time traveller into the shop. He felt his Yami's mind brush against his own, reassuring him and relaxed slightly. Yami knew best. The Pharaoh hadn't steered him wrong since they'd actually started speaking mind to mind and had saved his life many times.

"Sorry." Joey was saying as the pair entered the room, the second Yami helping him with the heavy metal frame, "I didn't think."

The look the time traveller's guardian gave Joey made Yugi chuckle. He'd felt the thought behind that look and it went something along the lines of 'and you do normally?' A little harsh maybe, but their friend did tend to have his incredibly stupid moments.

Both Joey and not-his-Yami turned to look at him, his friend giving him a slightly put out look, while the spirit of the other Puzzle just nodded at him.

"Are you alright?" Yugi asked the spirit of the other Puzzle, able to see the way he was holding himself. He'd been linked to his Yami long enough to be able to tell when his other self was hurt and trying to hide it. Obviously the other Yugi hadn't escaped with as few injuries as he'd made out. Yugi didn't think they were serious, the second Yami wouldn't have allowed his Yugi to risk angering his Yami without getting himself seen to first otherwise, but he was still worried.

The second Yami just shrugged, "I'm fine."

Yugi had a flash of what it must be like for his friends when he obviously wasn't fine but claimed that he was but he didn't push it. With his Yami he might have done, offered to share any pain he was in, but this wasn't his guardian, not really. He couldn't help but wonder what the other Yami was thinking, unused to not being able to read his dark's mind.

Suddenly it wasn't the other Yami he was looking at but his doppelganger, who gave him a slightly hollow smile, trying to be reassuring and not succeeding very well. As the time traveller turned to Joey and tried to convince him that it would be fine for him to have the camp bed and Joey could have the guest room, Yugi couldn't help but wonder if his friends could read him as easily as he could read the other him.

As the sounds of the familiar argument washed over him, he started dragging the camp bed to one side of the room and, by the time Joey had convinced the newcomer to take the guest room, via threats of noogies and bullied the time traveller into taking a nap, Yugi had almost finished setting it up and gone looking for some bedding.

"You do realise," Joey commented, budging Yugi out of the way and grabbing some sheets and things for himself, "This has got to be the weirdest thing that's ever happened to us. And that's saying something."

"I know." Yugi agreed as he grabbed a couple of pillows, wondering if he'd ever get used to there being two of him running around. If he hadn't seen it for himself, he wasn't sure he'd believe it.

Joey gained a slightly evil look and poked his friend. Yugi frowned at him, hoping that he wasn't planning on pranking the newcomer. Yami always went on high alert when something had happened to him and he could imagine that being pulled caught in the attack, pulled back in time, nearly killed during a duel and then left in a timeline that wasn't his own would be enough to cause the other Yami to react rather severely to anything that pushed his hikari any further.

"What?" Yugi asked warily, hoping that Joey knew better than to aggravate the other Yugi.

"So, who wants to tell Kaiba there's two Yugis running around?"


End file.
